Glad to be back

Chris Gunter admitted to a few butterflies before stepping out for a successful return to Premier League action at Chelsea.

Chris Gunter admitted to a few butterflies before stepping out for a successful return to Premier League action at Chelsea.

The young full-back who only turned 19 in July was back in the line-up for only his second league start since his switch from Cardiff in January. Indeed, it was his first league start since his league debut at Everton in January.

Not that you would have known. Chris was undaunted by such a high-profile encounter in a vibrant atmosphere at Stamford Bridge and coped well with the threat of Joe Cole down Chelsea's left until making way for a tactical reshuffle after an hour of the 1-1 draw.

"I didn't find out until about 11am and it was a great feeling to be back in the side," beamed the Welsh international. "I felt nervous and excitement - you want to play in these games.

"To start at places like Chelsea and play in games like this is what I want to do. I'm pleased to have got on the pitch and to have played quite well.

"They are such a good team that we were never going to have as much of the ball as we did in previous games. We're defenders first of all and it's our job to keep a clean sheet, it was a disappointing goal to give away from a set-piece but I didn't think they opened us up too much, so that's full credit to the whole team.

"In the second half we were better with the ball, we pushed on in the last 10, 15 minutes and we were hoping we could nick it.

"Chelsea haven't lost at home in years and we can be pleased with the draw and how we went about it. It was important to get a good performance and a result and we have to look at how well we've played and try to kick-on after the international break."